~ A Visual Chronology Of Post-Independence India ~

[MysteRy]

1964 – The passing of Nehru




India’s first prime minister was a troubled man after India’s defeat in the 1962 war with China. Facing criticism internally and losing Congress political strongholds in Kerala in the 1962 election, he took ill and spent his time recuperating in Kashmir. On returning to Delhi he suffered a stroke and later a heart attack. He died on May 27. Despite criticism of some of his policies, Nehru was an acknowledged statesman and visionary who led a young nation out of post-Independence darkness. Interim Prime Minister Gulzarilal Nanda, who had been sworn in, would soon be replaced by his close political confidant Lal Bahadur Shastri.

[MysteRy]

1965 – War in the subcontinent




Indians (in picture) celebrate with a seized Pakistani Army tank. India’s military losses in the war with China emboldened Pakistan to attack and lay claim to Kashmir, which it had lost during the Partition of India. After clashes between troops in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, the hostilities intensified in August. Though both sides suffered heavy casualties in land and air battles that extended along Pakistan’s border with Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, India was perceived as the victor for decisively thwarting the Pakistani attack. A United Nations-mediated ceasefire was enforced and remained in effect till the next war in 1971. Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was hailed as a national hero for the victory, which soothed the memory of the defeat to China.

[MysteRy]

1966 – The cartoonist who drew ire




On June 19, 1966 Balasaheb Keshav Thackeray, who had started his career as a cartoonist with the Free Press Journal in Mumbai, founded the Shiv Sena. Six years before, Thackeray had started Marmik, a cartoon weekly in which he criticized Gujarati and South Indian laborers in Mumbai whom he accused of usurping jobs that Maharashtrians deserved. His organization was launched to campaign for job security for Maharashtrians. In years to come the Shiv Sena’s ideology and methods would invite strident criticism but it would emerge as a decidedly powerful political entity both in state politics and at the centre, where it would ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

[MysteRy]

1966 – Women on top




India in 1966 saw her share of ups and downs. Even as India and Pakistan negotiated for peace at Tashkent, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri died thereafter in mysterious circumstances. An Air India flight crashed into Mont Blanc killing 117 people including Homi J Bhabha, chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission. But it was woman power that really swung it for the nation that year. Months after Indira Gandhi was sworn in as India’s first woman Prime Minister, a young medical student floored a Miss World jury with her beauty and wit. For one year Reita Faria wore her crown and then threw it all away to concentrate on completing her medical degree .

[MysteRy]

1968 – A boy band in India




Though it was much later that an Indian rock band would sing of John, Paul, George and the other guy crossing the universe, the Beatles made a beeline for India in 1968 at the height of their fame. Accompanied by an entourage that included actress and model Mia Farrow, an acolyte of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Fab Four arrived at the Maharishi’s ashram near Rishikesh for what was to be a ten-day course in Transcendental Meditation. Their stay was cut short by the death of manager Brian Epstein. The Beatles went back with mixed feelings – while John Lennon’s initial fascination with the Maharishi turned into disenchantment (he later referred to the Maharishi as a “lecherous womanizer”), George Harrison and his wife were taken in, while McCartney recounted many years later upon the Maharishi’s death that he was a great soul. All said, it was a fertile period in the band’s career as many future hits were penned here, including Ringo Starr’s first composition “Don’t Pass Me By.” Portraits of the Beatles’ stay in India, taken by Paul Saltzman, were released in 2000.

[MysteRy]

1969 - A train to the capital




In a tumultuous year for Indian politics – the Indian National Congress split into two factions – all eyes were on New Delhi. No surprise then that the Indian Railways introduced a special train connecting the capital with other Indian cities. The first Rajdhani Express left Delhi for Howrah, traversing 1,445 km in under 17 hours. The fully air-conditioned railway coaches are the gold class of Indian Railways and are accorded royal treatment. Today, 21 pairs of Rajdhani trains connect Delhi with state capitals.

[MysteRy]

1970 – “They say Indira Hatao, I say Garibi Hatao”




Indira Gandhi, fast losing her popularity, ushered in a new era in Indian politics with her epic line, “They say Indira hatao, I say Garibi hatao” in a desperate bid to gain the loyalty of the masses for the elections that she subsequently won in 1971. The slogan, which means “Abolish Poverty”, was later adopted by Rajiv Gandhi. Though the campaign was by no means successful, (only a shocking 4% of the total allocated funds for the campaign actually went into anti-poverty programs), it helped her secure the elections the coming year.

[MysteRy]

1971 Indo-Pak war




Gen. Niazi of Pakistan signs Surrender papers for Gen. Aurora of India. Bangladesh is liberated from the clutches of Pakistan

[MysteRy]

1971 – Bollywood smokes a chillum




Dev Anand, by no means second to showman Raj Kapoor in choosing controversial themes for his films, touched upon the sensitive topic of drugs in a movie that perfectly married the two themes of childhood isolation and the hippie movement. The film became a starring vehicle for the lead heroine, Zeenat Aman (Zeenie baby, as she was called), and was a huge musical and commercial hit.
In keeping with the sub-theme of western influence on India, the soundtrack featured both Hindi and English songs, the robust-voiced Usha Uthup holding up strongly in the English numbers against Asha Bhonsle’s honeyed vocals in the Hindi ones. The mood of the film had strong Warholesque undertones and while sending out an anti-drug message, also celebrated the liberation of the Indian woman from her ghar ki rani stereotype.

[MysteRy]

1972 – Putting the cat back in the bag




Project Tiger, launched in 1973-74, was India’s first successful conservation venture, aiming at the preservation and protection of the tiger, the national animal, in its natural reserves. There were 40 such reserves in 2008, but the total tiger population had dipped to an alarming 1411, which made the government sit up, take notice and give the movement its second wind three years ago, pledging over US $150 million dollars to the campaign. The 2011 tiger census puts the total figure at 1716, showing a healthy growth of about 20% over the last three years, though poaching of tigers for their skin still continues to pose a problem.

[MysteRy]

1973 – A landmark year for teenybopper romances




RK Films’ Bobby, the launch pad for star son Rishi Kapoor and rumoured star daughter Dimple Kapadia, featuring a pleasantly plump Dimple complete with love handle and cankles, and tinsel town’s original chocolate lover boy Rishi, was a runaway hit at the box office, riding high on whispers of an off-screen romance between the leads. The movie redefined the love story at the box office and became the inspiration for the onslaught of teenage-romance-set-against-a-backdrop-of-class-divide films. As with all blockbusters, the movie’s soundtrack was a huge hit and enjoys pride of place in the golden era of Bollywood music.

[MysteRy]

1974 – A pox on India’s health




Six years before smallpox was successfully eradicated from the world, India fell prey to the disease, losing over 15,000 lives in just five months mostly in West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Thousands who survived were either disfigured or blinded. It was one of the worst outbreaks of smallpox in the disease’s history. Ironically, the epidemic occurred in the midst of WHO’s smallpox eradication program.

[MysteRy]

1975 – The year when controversy ruled




Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, then President of India, declared a state of internal emergency upon the advice of then PM Indira Gandhi, thereby granting her full power to rule by decree. It was arguably the most controversial period in independent India’s history. No stranger to controversy herself, Indira Gandhi is said to have brought democracy “to a grinding halt”, in her own words. The almost two-year-long emergency ended in early 1977, with the Janata Party beating Indira’s Congress by a small majority in the general elections, bringing back ‘democracy’ from a bleak period of ‘dictatorship’.

[MysteRy]

1976 – Pocketful of good intentions




This is one year that India is unlikely to forget. The legal ages of marriage for men and women were declared (21 and 18, respectively) and thousands of married men and women were called to volunteer for vasectomies and tubal ligations to control the burgeoning population. Many were promised plots of land in the NCR region of Delhi if they willingly underwent vasectomies, earning the area the rather unfortunate name of Nasbandi (vasectomy) Colony. Sanjay Gandhi, son of then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, shouldered the majority of the blame for what is seen as a failed program. Inverted red triangles or not, our nation today is home to 17% of the world’s population, 1.21 billion at last count – and still counting…

[MysteRy]

1977 – At the lotus feet of the Lord




1977 saw the passing of Acharya Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (or the Hare Krishna Movement), who was largely responsible for spreading the message of Vaishnavism in the Western world. A hugely celebrated spiritual icon, Srila Prabhupada’s final resting place is in Vrindavan, a town that relies largely on the ISKCON movement for its tourist trade. A statue that bears a striking resemblance to the spiritual leader is also found in the temple in Vrindavan. ISKCON, though initially a recipient of rich praise, now sees itself mired in controversy.